mmlingvist Reviews

iIsland (2018)

One of the »must watch« environmental documentaries: activistic, poetic and humorous

[10/10 · 23 December 2019]

Miha Celar's film IOtok is not just very enjoyable to watch, it is also and intense film about a survival fight of 13 last residents of a small Bisevo island in the southern part of croatian coast. The acting is excellent. As a matter of fact, as director has said, the film creators have used a method of observation - they've just filmed what they observed. But as a viewer I got the feeling that all characters in the movie were well known actors. They made you hope that their survival story and their war would end in a way we want it to. Beside famous Slovenian writer Mate Dolenc we can "observe" other Bisevo residents: young couple - Chef Lado and his girlfriend Lucia; local guide Zvonko, who shows off the island's hidden beauties just to tourists that he likes; island's poet and chronicler Mico Finta; newcomer Sandi, who camps in the ruined house and strives to catch his first squid; Vlado - teacher who takes his pupils on a final excursion to Bisevo and teaches them how to salt the fish ... and some others "Bisevians" who are more original and heart touching then the weirdest characters in a Coen Brothers movie. The film is a marvellous example of team work. Director and screenwriter Miha Celar deftly interlaced amazing people into an intense environmental drama. Tomislav Krnic's poetic photography masterly combined the sea and the sky and Luca Ciute's music gently melted all into a real pleasure and gets us going about the environment.